Referee Andre Marriner was sticking to the letter of the law by showing a red card for a studs up challenge on Francis Coquelin.

Newcastle will be unlikely to win if they appeal Mitrovic’s three game ban for the dismissal against Arsenal.

West Ham have already lost an appeal for goalkeeper Adrian’s red card after a high challenge on Leicester’s Jamie Vardy. Referee Martin Atkinson was also taken off the Premier League match list last season when failing to send off Burnley’s Ashley Barnes for a studs up tackle on Nemanja Matic, which then resulted in the Chelsea man being red carded for protesting when the incident went unpunished.

The severity of the Barnes and Adrian incidents are obviously different but Marriner applied the same FA laws to the moment that resulted in Mitrovic being sent off.

Here’s what the football world said about Mitrovic’s tackle on the Frenchman.

Chris Kamara of Goals on Sunday said: “I am not 100% certain this is deliberate from Mitrovic.

“I know he had a reputation after being booked in his two games so far.”

Former Sunderland manager Gus Poyet said: “He got sent off because of his reputation.

“Forget about the ref.

“Not one Arsenal player reacted and nobody thought it was a bad tackle.

“If you did you would at least go over.”

Newcastle United midfielder Vurnon Anita said on NUFC TV: “He (Mitrovic) is a very nice guy and I think everybody thinks he’s got a little bit of a reputation because he made some fouls, maybe that is why the ref gave him a quickie red card.”

BBC pundit Danny Mills: “People are saying it’s a leg breaker but there was more chance of him breaking a toenail.”

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger: “Mitrovic went a bit overboard. It was maybe a bit unlucky as well, I don’t know - did he do it on purpose or not? I don’t know.”

Newcastle manager Steve McClaren: “It definitely was not dangerous.

“It was clumsy, but I have seen plenty of clumsy challenges.

“Football is a contact sport, it’s a physical sport and we cannot take that away.”